Tricky tricky traitor !. Review on Traitor Movie

The recent spate of spy movies was getting a little repetitive if you ask me. So I decided to watch Traitor expecting that it will be another round of hideouts, terrorists and corrupt intelligence officials. My apprehension was that the plot will be cliched, and the characters will be copies of the standard stereotypes.

However once in a while we come across a genre rejuvenating movie. Traitor takes the theme of a spy and his affiliations to a new level. Don Cheadle as the Traitor is one of the best and honest depictions of a spy I have ever seen. The movie is not about the black or the white. Its about the gray area in the middle.

The reason for the word honest(above) are many. For once we get to see the childhood of a traitor(albeit briefly). We also see the day to day mental torment which a spy has to suffer to reach his goals. The villains are not really the "bad guys" - they are a shade darker than the good guys. In fact one of the "bad guys" actually turns out to be an ironic hero in the end. There is a sort of dark realistic satire in this movie. As if the scriptwriter/director wanted to tell you something more than just the story.

The cinematography is stark and real - no frills but the straight scenes with a little bit of the excellent camera placement. The settings are well depicted - especially the ones in the open dessert prison. The characters are filmed with stabilized shoulder mounted cameras. So there's a feel of you actually being there in the scene along with the other characters!

The sound track is a little techno sometimes - but pleasantly so. Inter spaced with this is a little bit of the old world Arabic, Egyptian and African riffs. A very pleasant sort of throbbing music that never distracts from the scene but manages to set the pace of the movie all the while.

Don Cheadle turns out a performance of a lifetime. A Muslim spy who is by his nationality(US) forced to side with the Americans. He is torn between his allegiance to his country and the sympathy he feels for the "terrorists". A true believer in Islam - he depicts the picture of a man with a conscience, who knows what his actions amount to and is willing to take the responsibility arising of it.

Guy Pearce( from Memento) plays the tenacious but suave FBI agent. He knows his job and in typical American style wants to do things Now! Throughout the movie their characters follow parallel paths, crossing each other only thrice - and in very brief but telling fashion.

The other notable character is the good "bad guy"(played by Said Taghmaoui) with whom Don Cheadle has to hang around. This character(as with all the characters.) is excellently defined - showing the heart of a terrorist who has an inkling that his path is not about true Islam. To be honest the audience might feel like sympathising with him in the end( if they are not careful .) .

Alyy Khan(oh yes! There are two Indian actors here! Maybe more - but I could identify two .) is exceptionally believable as the suave plotter who his determined to cause a dent to the American psyche. He portrays a devious man who has got a logical mind with an evil heart.

And finally the plot. Its got a dose of the twists and turns( which is not at all unusual for a spy movie). But the this time the plot follows the characters and their different trysts rather than the hard facts. Quite the opposite of a documentary . the director concentrates on the soul rather than the "truth". As I said before - the movie and the plot is about the gray area between black and white. The plot is nonetheless riveting - never bogged down with any overtly emotional scenes.

Overall a commendable movie from Jeffrey Nachmanoff( who also does the screenplay and script - well almost the guy who is trying to talk to the audience through this movie!). Ashok Amritraj also has his finger in this pie. Somehow I like the movies that have his name in the credit roll at the end. The only downside I could find were the two dimensional depictions of the terrorist "bombers".

I suggest not wasting this movie with your beer soaked buddies. Head out to the theater with some contemplative company and enjoy this very immaculate depiction of a spy and his exciting but miserable life .